Competency based-syllabus

1. Report
1.
Competency-Based Syllabus
Competency-based Syllabus is aimed to increase the student’s performance during the
instruction. Kern (1990) found that a competency-based syllabus, in which students
competencies are required for the course as well as competencies to be developed during the
course are outlined and explained. The implementation of competency-based syllabus as an
approach to specifying the objectives of a syllabus or curriculum of the English Language
Teaching (ELT) is quite late compared to the countries such as United States and Australia
which implemented it since 1970s.Competence resembles performance in a way of specifying
objectives. However, competence is higher in terms of generality (Nunan, 1990). Both
competence and performance-based objectives should comprise of these three elements:
performance or task, condition, and criterion. So, in order to get the objectives specified, there
presence of methodology about how to teach Competency-Based materials in the syllabus.
Shortly, there are at least two things for teachers of English to conceive –‘what to teach’
(syllabus) and ‘how to teach’ (methodology). The schema below explains the components of
language teaching methodology.
Observed
Teaching
Practices
Instructional design
Features
Theories of Language and Learning
The components in the diagram cover: syllabus design, teaching methodologies, teachers,
learners and procedure or classroom activities. The student’s competencies are the reflection of
classroom activities. Some people might argue that classroom activities are artificial. However, it
is still believed that the theory of transfer still works in a sense that what the students learn in the
classroom can be transferred to the real world beyond the classroom.
Based on the literature study, the principles underlying Communicative Language
Teaching CLT are relevant to the Competency-Based Syllabus. They are:
1.
2.
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5.
Learners learn a language through using it to communicate;
Authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities;
Fluency is an important dimension of communication;
Communication involves the integration of different language skills;
Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error.
The Competency-Based Syllabus should not bind to a certain syllabus and can be
designed by referring to any syllabus. The convenient term for this is eclecticism.

2. Critics
Here I found some points that need further evaluation to the concepts explained above
and language feature used to express the idea.
The explanation to the concept Competency-Based Syllabus is quite clear. The language
used is also understandable. The structure of the explanation is expressed in multilevel stage
from the implementation of Competency-Based Syllabus in some countries, the use of
Competency-Based Syllabus, the general explanation of Competency-Based Syllabus and the
relevance to the other syllabus.It makes the explanation perceivableand systematic.
However, there is an unclear correlation between the components of language teaching
methodology and the covered aspects:syllabus design, teaching methodologies, teachers etc. The
stage of ‘features’ to the ‘Theories of Language and Learning’ needs more explanation and better
diction so that the relationship from both stages is not such ambiguous. The diagram will be
better if it’s followed with a short explanation related to the diagram.